Our Hero, Mailman Steve, Gets Probation

Some of you may have heard about "Mailman Steve," the postman from North Carolina who hoarded customers' junk mail in his garage for years until busted by a utility worker. Steven Padgett was sentenced this week to three years' probation, a small fine and ordered to perform community service for failure to deliver junk mail. Padgett could have gone to prison for his crime.

The prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Howard, said authorities had notified hundreds of Padgett's customers about the criminal proceeding, and only one responded. That single response, Howard, said, was in support of Padgett. The Postal Service had also never received a complaint about the missing mail and it seems no one noticed they weren't receiving advertising fliers, sweepstakes notices and pre-approved credit card offers. Some of the mail dated back from 1999.

Padgett's attorney claims that Padgett was not protesting junk mail. Rather, he decided not to sort and deliver the junk mail due to health problems including a health condition. One of the comments on the Raleigh ABC affiliate site summarizes how many feel about Mailman Steve: "I wish he was my mailman. Most of the junk mail has no address or phone number to contact to ask not to receive it. I don't order pizza, need my carpet cleaned, or need new windows or siding for my home. If this man's motive was that he was against unsolicited junk mail, he'd be hailed as a hero."

Read more about our junk mail reduction here, Mailman Steve, here and here (includes video).

If you don't want to receive staggering amounts of junk mail at your home and are not privy to a thoughtful mailman like Steve, we here at Tonic encourage you to sign up for GreenDimes. GreenDimes can eliminate up to 90 percent of your junk mail and, the service makes a great holiday gift for friends and family, too!